How Can German Citizens Legally Get Married in Italy?

To legally marry in Italy as a German citizen, you will need:

• A valid identity card or passport (with at least six months’ validity)
• A certificate of capacity to marry (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis), which confirms that you are legally free to marry
• A birth certificate, as the Ehefähigkeitszeugnis does not indicate parental details (paternity and maternity)

If both partners are German citizens, a joint certificate of capacity to marry is sufficient.

What Documents Do German Citizens Need to Get Married in Italy?

How German Citizens Obtain the Certificate of Capacity to Marry (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis)

German citizens must obtain a certificate of legal capacity to marry (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) from the competent German authority before getting married in Italy.

The certificate is issued by the Standesamt (civil registry office) of:

• the current place of residence, or
• the last place of residence in Germany

If the applicant has never had permanent residence in Germany, the competent authority is
Standesamt Berlin I.

The application can be submitted either directly in Germany or through German embassies and consulates abroad, depending on the applicant’s situation.

No Translation or Legalization Required (Munich Convention 1980)

Under the Munich Convention of 5 September 1980, the Ehefähigkeitszeugnis is issued in a multilingual (international) format.

This has a critical legal consequence:

• No translation is required
• No apostille or legalisation is required

The document can be used directly before the Italian authorities.

The certificate is valid for 180 days, in line with the general validity applied to marriage capacity documents in Italy.

What Happens After You Receive the Certificate

Once the Ehefähigkeitszeugnis has been issued, the procedure in Italy moves quickly and is fully administrative.

As your legal coordinators in Italy, we:

• file the certificate with the Italian Municipality
• arrange the declaration of no impediment before the Civil Registrar (required for foreign non-resident citizens)

During this formal declaration, the couple confirms that no legal impediments exist under Italian law, including those set out in Articles 85–88 of the Italian Civil Code.

Interpreter Requirement (Mandatory by Law)

If either party does not speak Italian, the presence of an interpreter is legally required.

The same rule applies during the civil ceremony if even one of the spouses or witnesses does not understand Italian.

Civil Ceremony Requirements in Italy

The civil wedding takes place before the Mayor or a delegated official of the Municipality.

You must have:

• two adult witnesses
• valid identity documents for all participants

We coordinate the booking of the ceremony date with the Municipality once all documents are correctly filed.

Recognition of the Marriage in Germany

After the wedding, we request the plurilingual marriage certificate from the Italian Municipality.

Under the Vienna Convention of 8 September 1976, this certificate:

• is issued in a multilingual format
• is directly valid in Germany
• does not require translation or legalisation

This allows you to register your marriage in Germany without additional administrative steps.

Choice of Matrimonial Property Law (Article 22 of EU Regulation 2016/1103)

For German couples getting married in Italy, there is a strategic legal aspect that is often overlooked but highly relevant: the choice of the applicable law governing matrimonial property.

Under Article 22 of Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1103, future spouses may agree to designate the law applicable to their matrimonial property regime.

Pursuant to Article 23, the agreement must be expressed in writing, dated and signed by both parties.This can be:

• the law of the country of nationality (e.g. German law), or
• the law of the country where one of the spouses resides

This choice is not merely theoretical. It has a concrete effect on the Italian marriage records.

At our operational level, we ensure that this declaration is correctly made and registered so that it appears in the “estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio”.

This document is crucial.

In the Italian legal system, the “estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio” is the only official document issued after the civil wedding, together with the full marriage record, where the chosen matrimonial property regime and the applicable law is explicitly stated.

This becomes particularly important for German couples, as it allows the marriage to be clearly aligned with German property law.

Use of the Italian Marriage Extract in Germany

Once the marriage has been registered, an extract for summary of the marriage record (estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio) must be obtained from the Italian Municipality.

The extract must expressly include the annotation concerning the matrimonial property regime chosen by the spouses.

The document must then be processed as follows:

1. Issuance of the marriage extract (Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio)
   
   The competent Italian Municipality must issue the original extract for summary of the marriage record, including the annotation confirming the matrimonial property regime chosen at the time of the marriage.
2. Apostille of the Italian document
   
   The original marriage extract must be submitted to the competent Italian Prefettura for the Apostille under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961.
   
   The Apostille authenticates the signature and official capacity of the Italian civil registrar who issued the document.
3. Sworn translation into German (asseverazione)
   
   The apostilled marriage extract, including the Apostille and the annotation concerning the matrimonial property regime, must be translated into German.
   
   The translation must then be sworn before the competent Italian Court through the formal certification procedure known as “asseverazione“
4. Apostille of the sworn translation
   
   Once the translation has been sworn, the Court certification must be submitted to the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office for a second Apostille.
   
   This second Apostille authenticates the signature of the Court official before whom the translation was sworn.
5. Submission in Germany
   
   The complete document package to be submitted to the competent German authority or institution consists of:
   • the original Italian extract for summary of the marriage record (Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio).
   • the annotation concerning the matrimonial property regime;
   • the Apostille on the Italian marriage extract;
   • the sworn German translation of the complete document;
   • the Apostille authenticating the sworn translation (asseverazione).

The completed document package may then be used before German public authorities, notaries, banks, land registries or other institutions requiring official evidence of both the marriage and the matrimonial property regime chosen by the spouses.

Your Legal Advisors for your Civil Marriage in Italy

Due to our experience in law firms and the foreign offices of the Italian public administration, we gained significant expertise in Consular affairs, and we are trained to solve the most complicated procedures such as:

• Marriage Nulla osta process, legalization procedure, Court hearings for the refusal of the town hall when documents are missing, legal translation, apostille procedure, emergency procedure for legalization.
• Ricongiungimento familiare and coesione familiare.
• Same-sex couples that want to celebrate a civil union in Italy when in their country the union is forbidden.
• Italians living abroad registered at A.I.R.E. who need to recover their documents to start the marriage banns in the Italian Consulate.
• Assistance for people from countries that do not issue a nulla osta.
• American and Australian couples who need assistance with the “atto notorio” in an Italian Court or the Italian Consulate in the USA or Australia.
• People with refugee status who have requested asylum in Italy.